Runaway Rose
by TikTurd
Summary: What happens when you are the youngest kid in the family AND the only girl? Things can get a little tough. After her disappearance, Jazzlynn's family searches for their youngest member.Matt and Jeff Hardy, Shannon Moore.


_Dear Mom and Dad,  
I can't be here anymore. Neither of you have any time for me. None of my brothers ever want to hang out with me. I'm tired of being a pain. It's like I'm trapped in this family with no one to turn to. I'm sick of it. Don't come looking for me, you'll never find me. I'm not telling anyone where I'm going.  
-Jazzy_

Jordan was in awe as he read the letter what seemed like a thousand times. He had come home from college to surprise everyone this weekend, but it was Jordan who had gotten the surprise. He sat on his baby sister's bed and looked around her room. He let out a small laugh as he thought about all the transformations the small space had undergone the last few times he had seen it. Once, it was covered with massive amounts of boy band pictures, he and Jeff had teased her about them endlessly. Then, she fell into an 80s hair band phase, that one was just downright creepy. Jordan looked around. It seemed to him that she had finally become normal. Her once pastel pink walls were now covered with black paint and an array of posters. Photographs of her and every member of the family filled the narrow spaces between many of the posters.

Jordan stared at the picture of him and his sister. It had been taken during his senior year in high school. Jazzlynn was in 4th grade. That wasn't a good year for her. He remembered how pitiful she looked when she fell off her bike and broke her arm. He thought about how helpless he had felt while she was screaming in pain all the way to the hospital.  
"God, I wish I could turn back time," he said to himself.  
"JORDAN!" screamed Matt and Cameron simultaneously running into Jazzlynn's bedroom.  
"Hey guys," he replied. He gave them both big hugs and then walked out into the living room. "Hi, Mom," He said as his mother stumbled through the front door.  
His mother didn't respond. Instead, she walked over to her husband and collapsed into his arms, crying.  
"Shannon, our baby is missing. What are we going to do?" she sobbed.  
"I don't know," he said holding his wife. "We'll talk about it when Jeffrey gets here. Until then, try to calm down. We'll get her back. I promise," he said giving her a reassuring hug.  
"If we're waiting on Jeff, we might as well take a little trip to the beach. Maybe he'll be here by the time we get back," Matt said in a whisper to Jordan. Unfortunately, his dad heard him.  
"He said he would be here at two and it's 1:55. Have a little faith, boys," Shan said to his sons, still holding their weeping mother. Time ticked by one second at a time.

"Why are we even waiting for Jeff?" Cameron inquired.

"Because he's your brother. He's probably the closes to Jazzy, and we're not going to leave him out." Shannon replied.

Finally, at ten minutes until four, Jeff plodded through the door. The family stared at him as if they were puzzled about the identity of the guy who walked through their front door.  
"Little bro?" Jordan said.  
"Yes, sire?' Jeff replied.  
"Are you okay? You look really weird. I mean, different, when you're all cleaned up. I think I like the dirt covered motocross look better" Jordan said.  
"Wow. I love you too," replied Jeff sarcastically.  
"Okay, Jeff's here. Can we please figure out what to do about Jazzlynn?" Cameron questioned anxiously.  
"EVERYONE IN THE KITCHEN!" Shannon yelled. Everyone scrambled into the kitchen and sat around the table.  
"Okay. We have no clue where she could be. We're going to check everywhere. Everyone is going to have to work hard to get Jazzy home safely." Shannon began. "Your mother and I are going downtown to file a missing person report immediately. Jordan, take Cameron and check her friends' houses. Matt, take the van and drive around the school and down to the skate park. Jeff, just drive around, and maybe you could check the mall."  
Everyone nodded in agreement, except their mother, who was till crying into her husband's shoulder.  
"Come on, Crystal," Shannon said, helping his wife up. "Guys, be back her by 7:30; and not one minute later."  
"Okay, Dad," all the boys replied heading out the door.

Jordan and Cameron went straight to Jazzlynn's best friend, Trish.  
"Trish?" Jordan said as a little blonde girl opened the door. "Wow, you've grown so much."  
"How have you been? I haven't seen you in forever," Trish said. Before Jordan could say anything, Cameron butted in.  
"Trish, Jazzy is missing. Have you seen her today?" Cameron inquired.  
"Oh my gosh. No, I haven't seen her. She wasn't at school. I was wondering why. Can I help you look for her?  
"Yeah. It would be great if you could call everyone and see if they've seen her today."  
"No problem," she said.  
"Here's my cell number. If you find out anything, call me," Jordan said, handing Trish a piece of paper with his number on it.  
"Okay. I'll go call all the girls and get them to help too."  
"Thanks so much," Cameron said.  
Cameron and Jordan jumped back into Jordan's black Corvette and drove away.  
"Okay, let's go to Shawn's next," Cameron suggested.  
"Great idea, twinkle toes!" Jordan laughed. Cameron punched him.  
"Look, I was 4 when I wanted to be a ballerina, can we please drop it? And if I remember correctly, wasn't it you and Jeff that gave me that idea anyway?"  
"No, we can't drop it, and yes, we did give you that idea. It was hilarious then, and it is now, too." Jordan said. Cameron grew angrier. "Calm down, little brother. Loosen up, take a joke."  
"I can't loosen up. My sister is missing. Not just my sister, but my twin sister. You know how people always say twins have like ESP or whatever?"  
"Yeah. Why?'  
"Well, I have a really bad feeling, like Jazzy's in trouble or hurt or something. I'm scared, Jordan."  
"Don't worry, Cam. We're going to find her. Everything is going to be fine. I promise."  
Cameron didn't reply. He choked back his tears and got out. Jordan knocked on the door and Shawn's mother answered.  
"Hello, Mrs. Michaels. Is Shawn around?" Cameron asked.  
"No, he hasn't gotten home from school yet. Can I help you with something?'  
"Yeah, actually, have you seen our sister today?"  
"Yes, I saw her this morning when I dropped Shawn off. Why?"  
"She ran away from home and we were hoping she was over here," Jordan said.  
"No, she hasn't been over here since Saturday."  
"Well, okay. If you see her, tell her to call us," said Cameron.  
"I will. Good luck, boys."  
"Thank you," they replied.

They got back in the car. Jordan started to pull out when his phone rang. It was Casey, his girlfriend.  
"Hello…Yeah, I'm going to have to cancel…Something really important came up….No….No…my little sister is missing….Yeah, so am I…. Yeah…Why don't you come down here? We don't have any classes until Thursday… Yes….It's only 2 hours….My parents will be fine with it….Okay…See you tonight….Bye Casey."

He closed the phone and they took off. It was 6:00.  
"Let's go see if Shawn or Jazzy is at the arcade down on Valoz Street." Cameron said.  
"Alright, I haven't been there in so long," Jordan replied.  
They parked on the street outside the Game Machine. Cameron ran through the arcade looking for Shawn or Jazzlynn. Jordan started at the other end looking for his sister. He and Cameron met up in the middle by the pool tables and air hockey tables.  
"See anything?" Cameron asked.  
"No. But I'm not exactly sure what Shawn looks like. You should go double check."  
"Okay, let's go." Cameron said grabbing Jordan's arm.  
They scanned the aisles of games. Finally, on the last aisle, Cameron found Shawn.  
"SHAWN! Have you seen Jazzy?" he exclaimed.  
"No. Not since this morning, she was really upset, and we got into a fight because she wouldn't tell me what was wrong. Why?"  
"Because she ran away. Do you know where she might have gone?"  
"Not really, she kept saying she was going to go to the roses. I'm not really sure what that means. Do you know?"  
"No. But thanks for the help. I'll see if anyone knows about roses. Oh, can you do one more thing?"  
"Yeah, sure, anything."  
"Can you ask around and if you find out anything, will you call us?"  
"Absolutely. I hope you find her."  
"Thanks," Cameron said.  
They headed out the door of the arcade and jumped in Jordan's Corvette.

"Where are we going?" Cameron asked.  
"Home. It's almost 7:15."  
"I just thought of one more place. Can we go there? Call Dad. He'll understand."  
"Okay. This better be good."

Jordan stopped and called his dad.  
"Okay," he said to Cameron, "Where are we going?"  
"Turn left up here."  
They turned behind a vacant building. There was a small group of skaters.  
"What's this?" Jordan questioned.  
"Jazzy's favorite skating spot. I'll be right back." Cameron replied, jumping out of the 'Vette.  
"Hey, Cam. What's up?" the shortest one asked.  
"Nothing, Oscar. Have any of you seen Jazzlynn?"  
"Yeah. I saw her at about two o' clock. She came and skated for a few minutes and then she grabbed her bag and left. Never said anything. Is she okay? She was acting really weird," said a girl.  
"Amy, I really don't know. That's why I came here. She left a note this morning that said she was running away, and no one has seen her since," Cameron said, choking back his tears once more. "Okay, well thanks anyway. I have to go. See you later."  
Cameron jumped in the car.  
"So?" said Jordan as Cameron put on his seatbelt.  
"They said she was here about two o' clock. Then, she just kind of left. Nothing especially helpful, but at least we know that she was okay then. Let's just go home. Maybe someone else had some luck."

They dragged themselves through the door at 7:35. Everyone was sitting wearily in the living room.  
"Any luck?", said Matt.  
"Not really. All I got out of anyone was that she was over behind the old Toys 'R Us at about two o' clock. Then she left. And Shawn said something weird about roses or something like that," Jordan said.  
"ROSES?" Jeff exclaimed.  
"Yeah, I think that's what he said. Why?"  
"I'm so stupid. Why didn't I think of that? Come on. Who's going with me to get Jazzy?"  
"I AM!" Everyone screamed.  
Jeff lead the pack on his Harley, closely followed by Jordan and Cameron in the 'Vette. Matt, Shannon, and Crystal followed them in the van.  
They drove for about thirty minutes. Finally, Jordan got angry and called Jeff.  
"Where the hell are we going... Yes, I trust you….Yes, I want to get Jazzlynn….Don't tell me to shut up...okay...but if we're not there in another 5 minutes, I'm going back home."

Finally, the caravan of worried parents and brothers turned onto a dirt road. About a mile down the road, they came upon a pond. Everyone jumped out and looked around. All faces lit up with huge smiles as they looked across the pond.  
On the other side, under a huge oak tree was Jazzlynn's tent. On either side of the tent was a huge rose bush standing solemnly like soldiers who were protecting their fort. They all ran around to the other side of the pond.  
Cameron immediately unzipped the tent. Unfortunately, it was a mess, and Jazzlynn wasn't in it. Her skateboard, messenger bag and CDs were scattered everywhere. He turned back to his family.

"Her stuff is here, but I see no Jazzy," Cameron informed them. He was on the verge of tears.

"Where could she be?" Crystal said as she started to cry. Shannon hugged her tightly.

He started to speak, but he was interrupted by one of his sons.  
"Shhhhhh. Do you guys hear that?" Cameron asked.

Tiny sobs could be heard. They seemed to be coming from the rose bushes. Everyone looked around, very confused. Slowly, Jeff approached the one on the left and spread the bush apart. Inside, Jazzlynn was curled up in a ball, crying.  
"How the hell did you get in there?" Jeff asked.  
Jazzlynn snapped around. An ear to ear smile came through her tears as she realized who was standing there.  
"Do I really need to answer that? Help me out," she cried.  
Jeff and Jordan picked her up and laid her down by her tent. She was very scratched up. Jordan looked down at his baby sister. That helpless feeling was back. He saw the scratches all over her body and he wanted to cry for her.  
"I was climbing up in the tree to get a better look at the pond, and I fell out. I think I sprained my wrist. It hurt to move because of the thorns, so I just moved little by little. I figured I could get out eventually," Jazzlynn said through her tears. "I was so scared."  
"It's okay. We're here now," Crystal assured her pulling her off the ground into a hug.  
"How did you find me?" Jazzlynn asked. Her voice was muffled by her mother's shoulder.

"What?" Cameron questioned.

Jazzy pulled away from her mother, who's tears were now joyful.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked.  
"Well, if I wasn't so, well, me, I would have figured it out a lot sooner. But since I am, I had to have a little refresher," Jeff said.  
"What are you talking about?" Jazzlynn said wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks.  
"Shawn said something about roses and then Jeff suddenly grew a brain cell or something," Matt said.  
"I forgot I'd even shown you this place," Jeff said.  
"Yeah well, I didn't," she said.  
"Come on," Shannon said. "Let's get going and get something done with those scratches and that wrist."  
"I'll get the tent and all of her stuff," Matt said.  
"Jordan, can you do something for me?" Jazzlynn said.  
"Sure, sweetie, anything." he said.  
"Can Jeff drive your 'Vette home, and you take his Harley, so we can talk. I mean, if it's okay with him."  
"It's cool with me. I've wanted to burn the tires off of that car since you got it," Jeff said sarcastically.  
"I'm not too willing, but I've wanted to get my hands on that Harley for a while. So, yeah, that'll be fine. See you at the house."

They all jumped in their cars and left, except Jeff and Jazzlynn. Jazzlynn sat at the edge of the pond and stared into it. She watched her reflection become distorted as a frog jumped in. Jeff sat down and put his arm around her.  
"So, what do you want to talk about?" he asked.  
"Everything," she replied. "I just figured we could spend some time out here like we used to. I've really missed hanging out with you. Ever since your motocross career has taken off, we haven't spent very much time together. I miss how close we were. You're my best friend, Jeff."

About two hours passed, they talked about everything: past, present, and future. Jazzlynn and Jeff sat and giggled like three year olds. Jeff had a million lame jokes, but Jazzy laughed at every single one of them. Long after daylight had faded into night skies, Jeff got up and pulled Jazzlynn to her feet.  
"We have to go. Dad will kill me if we don't get that wrist fixed." he said.  
"Yeah, let's go. How about the long way? You know that stretch of road is very straight, and it's just begging for it."  
"Jazzy, NO! Jordan would kill me if I did that with his car. NO, just NO!" Jeff said.  
"Well, okay. If you're scared." Jazzlynn pouted.  
"ME? SCARED? NEVER! GET IN."  
They drove slowly out to the end of the dirt road and pulled out onto the pavement . It was as straight as an arrow.  
"Are you sure about this?" Jeff asked.  
"HELL YEAH!" Jazzy screamed.  
"Alrighty then!" he said, imitating Ace Ventura.  
Jeff jammed the accelerator of the Corvette to the floor and they sped off, leaving only a cloud of dust behind.


End file.
